(NASDAQ:CTXS) announced asignificant new upgrade to Citrix Essentials for XenServer and Hyper-V, therecently announced product line that adds advanced virtualization managementcapabilities to two of the industry`s fastest growing virtualization platforms.The new 5.5 version of Citrix Essentials helps customers of both of thesehigh-growth platforms achieve more manageable, scalable and agile datacenters byproviding open technologies that leverage their existing investments in the mostefficient way possible. Citrix also announced a new 5.5 version of CitrixXenServer that raises the bar once again for free, enterprise-classvirtualization, adding a wide range of new features that enable easiermanagement and broader integration with enterprise systems. "The XenServer 5.5 release is a clear demonstration that we are committed tomaking the free version of XenServer the best enterprise-class virtualizationplatform on the market. Server virtualization has been far too expensive andcomplex in the past, and we`re committed to changing that dynamic forever," saidPeter Levine, senior vice president and general manager, VirtualizationManagement Division, Citrix Systems. "The new 5.5 version of Citrix Essentialsunderscores our belief that XenServer and Hyper-V are two of the fastest-growingvirtualization platforms in the market, each serving distinct market segments.As we seek to accelerate the rate of virtualization adoption with the freeXenServer product, we`re also committed to providing the best advancedvirtualization management solutions for both XenServer and Hyper-V.
Together,these two releases will continue driving innovation and exciting newcapabilities into all of our server virtualization product lines." New 5.5 Release of Citrix Essentials for XenServer and Hyper-VCitrix Essentials provides advanced virtualization management capabilities forcustomers using Citrix XenServer or Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V. Withmore than 75 percent of servers on the market still not virtualized1 and productoptions increasing rapidly, datacenters in the near future will likely include afar different mix of virtualization platforms supporting a greater diversity ofuse cases. The 5.5 version of Citrix Essentials enhances both of thesehigh-growth virtualization platforms by adding the following new features:* Expanded Storage Integration leverages the groundbreaking StorageLinktechnology in Citrix Essentials to ensure that XenServer and Hyper-V arecertified to work seamlessly with virtually every third-party storageinfrastructure, array and backup system on the market today. While othervirtualization products attempt to replicate storage-related functions in theirown proprietary management systems, StorageLink takes a far more open approachthat lets XenServer and Hyper-V customers directly leverage all the native powerof their existing storage investments at a fraction of the cost. The new 5.5release also adds the ability to fast clone and provision virtual machines,giving customers a single backup solution that spans physical and virtualresources, and making it easy for third-party providers to deliver unifiedbackup and snapshot capability for both Hyper-V and XenServer environments. Morethan 20 leading storage vendors have certified or will be certifying theirproducts to work with XenServer and Hyper-V as a result of the new CitrixEssentials 5.5 release (see today`s separate announcement of the new CitrixReady Open Storage Program).
* Automated Stage Management further simplifies and streamlines the process ofbuilding, testing, sharing and delivering applications on-demand throughout thefull application lifecycle, from development labs to production servers. Thisnew capability extends the existing lab management features of Citrix Essentialsseamlessly into the realm of staging and production for both XenServer andHyper-V customers. As a result, administrators can now create customizableworkflows that define the staging process for IT pre-production and productiondeployments, creating multi-machine configurations and migrating between stageswith a single mouse click. Because this functionality supports multiplehypervisors, customers can even run development and testing environments on onevirtualization platform, and move those applications into staging and productionon another platform. * DynamicWorkload Balancing of virtual machines across the resource pool takeslive motion to the next level for XenServer customers. This powerful newcapability extends the XenMotion features available in the free XenServerproduct by enabling automated, policy-based movement of live virtual machinesacross physical servers based on preset rules and thresholds.
By dynamicallymigrating virtual machines to the optimal location in the resource pool based onchanging demand, performance bottlenecks can be prevented with no manualintervention."The open approach Citrix has taken with its Citrix Essentials and XenServerproducts is a key differentiator that addresses real customer pain points," saidMark Bowker, analyst, ESG. "Server virtualization is acting as a catalyst fornetworked storage as companies rapidly deploy virtual machines. Citrix helpscustomers deal with the common storage provisioning, capacity utilization andstorage management problems that can often create hurdles with virtualizedserver deployments and recognizes that the vast majority of organizations wantto accelerate integration and simplify virtualization implementations. Today`snews really demonstrates Citrix is dedicated to continuing to add significantvalue to both the free XenServer as well as the advanced management solutions ontop of it." New 5.5 Release of XenServer Raises the Bar on Free VirtualizationCitrix changed the game in virtualization last quarter with a groundbreaking newrelease of XenServer that made enterprise-class virtualization free of charge toanyone. This move set an entirely new standard for free virtualization byincluding powerful features like centralized multi-node management, multi-serverresource sharing and full live motion - functionality that typically costs up to$5,000 per server with other leading virtualization products. With the newXenServer 5.5 release, Citrix is raising the bar once again, adding a wide rangeof new features to the free XenServer product that enable easier virtualizationmanagement and broader integration with enterprise systems. New featuresinclude:* Consolidated Backup allows third-party backup vendors to interface directlywith XenServer to provide full and incremental, in-guest, file and image backupsof virtual machines.